DiotimosReading Desk

Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · English Edition

Gerhard Dorn and John French

A Chymical Dictionary

An Expanded Diotimos Lexicon of Paracelsian and Alchemical Language

Explore the Lexicon
A Chymical DictionaryGigantes

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

English Edition · Branch 500 of 740

Gigantes

Book Mode

A Chymical Dictionary

p. 500

Gigantes

Body disease and historical medicine · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Human figures described as exceeding natural bounds.

In the book. Homunculus describes an artificially made human being and also admits an image sense.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 24; facsimile PDF page 352.

Historical Definition

Gigantes are human beings exceeding the bounds of Nature.

Meaning

The definition is relational: the subjects exceed what the compiler calls the bounds of Nature. It does not quantify their size or identify the cause of the excess. The entry should not be turned into an anatomical measurement.

Use in the Book

Homunculus describes an artificially made human being and also admits an image sense. Gnomi includes small beings or corporeal spirits. The comparison reveals a vocabulary of human-like forms, size and origin, but the brief Gigantes definition does not state that every such category is produced by the same means.

Places to Read

Gnomi. Subterranean beings described through several related formulations.

Homunculus. An artificial human being, with an additional image sense.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 24; facsimile PDF page 352 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Gigantes

See also. Gnomi; Homunculus

500

About This Reading Edition

The complete 706 historical definitions of the 1650 English dictionary, modernised and accompanied by expanded Diotimos commentary, reading routes, 15 textual notes and complete linked indexes.

Historical Text

A Chymicall Dictionary, London 1650, English version associated with John French, based on Gerhard Dorn’s Dictionarium Theophrasti Paracelsi. The containing volume also prints Sendivogius and Paracelsus; neither neighboring work changes this dictionary’s attribution.

About This Edition

Complete 706 definition paragraphs with new introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes; Diotimos Editions, 2026.

Rights

The historical 1650 English text is in the public domain. New introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and published with the site owner’s authorization.